Here are four items that I’ve been using of late that are worthy of your attention, and your money.
Its maker describes the Torneo as “a small felling axe intended for bringing down or cutting up small to medium-sized trees.” I’d describe it as a camp axe, or the Swedish cousin to a Hudson’s Bay axe. In any event, it’s a handy little devil with a 1.75-pound, single-bit head and a 26-inch (American) hickory handle.
The head is drop-forged in a foundry that has been in continual operation since 1697, and is zone-tempered, which makes for a very hard edge and a softer poll that can take impact, although this does not mean you can pound on steel wedges with it. The head is sandblasted—which I had not seen before, and which gives it a nice flat gray finish—and lacquered, to prevent rust. I expect the lacquer would wear off pretty quickly, and you should oil the head after use anyway.
This is the sharpest axe I have ever seen. Sensing that it was only a step away from greatness, I introduced it to my Crock Stick, and 48 strokes later I got an edge that will peel the hair off your arm. I have a few knives that are this sharp, but I’ve yet to see an axe that would equal it. You could literally shave with the Torneo if you were suicidal.
Best thing is the price. It’s $99, which is about half what you’d pay for most axes of this caliber.
I tried this at the insistence of a fellow F-Class competitor who is truly fanatical about anything concerned with accuracy. Butch’s is advertised as a highly advanced one-step powder solvent that will remove everything on a gun that doesn’t belong, and that’s just what it does. Moreover, it doesn’t stink; it has hardly any smell at all. I like it very much. The bottle…
